The Kremlin on June 29 refused to provide any details about Russian General Sergei Surovikin since the failed armed mutiny by the Wagner group over the weekend.
Nicknamed “General Armageddon,” General Surovikin – commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces and deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine – has not been seen since June 24, when he appeared in a video calling on Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to call off the mutiny.
Mr Surovikin looked tired in the video, Reuters noted. There have since been unconfirmed reports that the general is being questioned by security agencies.
Russian General Sergei Surovikin, when he was the commander of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, December 17, 2022. Photo: Al Arabiya
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred questions about Surovikin to the Russian Defense Ministry, which has so far made no statement about Surovikin.
Asked by reporters if the Kremlin could clarify the situation with Mr Surovikin, Mr Peskov said: “No, unfortunately not. It is better to contact the Russian defense ministry; this is their competence.”
When a reporter asked whether President Vladimir Putin still trusted General Surovikin, Mr Peskov said: “He (Putin) is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and he works with the Defense Minister and the Chief of the General Staff.”
Questions about “structural units within the ministry” should be directed to the Russian Defense Ministry, Mr Peskov said.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on General Surovikin, one of Russia’s most respected generals who led Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine from October 2022 to January 2023, until he was replaced by General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff. Surovikin is serving as Gerasimov’s deputy.
Most of Russia's top generals have disappeared from public view since the Wagner group's mutiny, Reuters notes.
The coup, which Mr Putin said could plunge Russia into civil war, is the biggest challenge to the Russian state since the 1991 coup that helped hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the historical and cultural site of the ancient citadel of Naryn-Kala in the city of Derbent, June 28, 2023. Photo: Kremlin.ru
On June 28, Mr. Putin visited the historical and cultural relic site of the ancient citadel of Naryn-Kala and the Juma Mosque in the city of Derbent on the shore of the Caspian Sea, about 2,000 km south of Moscow.
The Kremlin said Mr Putin also chaired a meeting on developing tourism in the region. The Russian leader, wearing sunglasses and no tie, was shown chatting with locals who took selfies with him.
Meanwhile, the fate of the boss of the private military corporation Wagner Prigozhin remains unclear.
A private plane linked to Mr Prigozhin flew from St Petersburg to Moscow on 29 June, but it is unclear who was on board.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov said he had no information about Mr Prigozhin's current location.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said this week that he had persuaded Mr Putin not to “wipe out” Mr Prigozhin, adding that the Wagner leader had flown to Belarus.
Speaking about the cause of the mutiny, Colonel Andrei Kartapolov, an influential lawmaker and chairman of the Defense Committee in the Russian State Duma, said that Mr. Prigozhin refused to sign a contract for Wagner to serve in the Russian Defense Ministry.
As a result, Mr Kartapolov said, Mr Prigozhin was informed that his soldiers would no longer fight in Ukraine and would no longer receive money from the Russian state.
Earlier, on June 27, Mr. Putin said that Mr. Prigozhin, Wagner and his food supply company Concord had received at least $2 billion from the Russian state in the past year .
Minh Duc (According to Reuters, Al Jazeera)
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